The future's in your paws. Shape it well.Roleplay in a cat Clan of warriors. Based off the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. Takes place in an AU before the cats in the books existed.
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Characters : Tiger [Ti], Owl [O], Raven [R], Hare [H] Clan/Rank : [Ti] Windclan Leader, [O] Riverclan Warrior [R] Riverclan Warrior, [H] Skyclan Warrior Number of posts : 9984 Gender : Any Pronouns Age : 26
Subject: Re: Hunted [SITEWIDE] Mon 15 Jan 2024 - 20:56
By the time he realized there was chaos, it was a bit too late for him. His sickness didn't help much at all with his awareness but to suddenly become aware in the middle of chaos was frightening, especially with the howling that haunted the area surrounding them. There was no time... could he run? The speckled tom stood, quickly coming to realize that his legs were weak still. He didn't have the energy others had. There wasn't a way out for him.. which left only one option. At least he could buy them time.
The tom moved closer to the source of the noise closest to where the camp was, fear made his paws feel like stone, but anything to let them have time. To let them survive. It was the last gift he could give to make up for everything. He could see an outline of the creature in the brush near by eyeing up other cats, waiting on a chance to strike. He wasn't going to let that happen. Rasing his voice the tom yelled out, his voice cracking on the process. "Over here you frog-brain!" A shiver ran down the tom's spine as he watched piercing eyes turn in his direction, and soon it slowly emerged from the brush. A harsh reality settled in the toms bones. It was stalking him, just like he had done with prey before, he was on the other end of it. Green eyes flicked off to the side, hoping, praying, everyone in Shadowclan was taking the chance to escape.
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"끝나지 않은 이 소설의 페이지 마지막까지 함께 채울래" Tigerstar ✦ Owlcall ✦ Harespring ✦ Ravenfall ✦ Blackkit Windclan ✦ Riverclan ✦ Skyclan ✦ Riverclan ✦ Thunderclan Leader (Tier 5) ✦ Tier 2 ✦ Tier 2 ✦ Tier 1 ✦ Kit Reaper's Beans | Plotting Pages | Heartchart
Kitty Former Staff
Characters : Murkyriver ♀ | Mistwalker ♀ | Mintglade ♀ | Crakeburn ♀ | Snowvixen ♀ | Hollowpaw ♀ Clan/Rank : Riverclan | Skyclan | Windclan Number of posts : 4942 Gender : She/Her - ash was here :3 and Ro! Age : 21
Subject: Re: Hunted [SITEWIDE] Mon 15 Jan 2024 - 21:06
Egretswoop
“I will always fly back home.”
Raging winds, thundering paws, and howling-the ear splitting howling-forced the pale molly to her paws before she even heard the sounds of her leader from halfway across their makeshift camp. Every fiber of her being hadn’t been put into high alert so much as slammed into it. It felt like the howling and the cacophony of voices was going to tear her ears apart. The chilling wind felt as if it had stripped every patch of fur away, one tuft at a time until she had nothing left but the skin beneath her pelt. The scent of fear was suffocating to the point that she couldn’t breathe. Coupled with the immediate instinct of the need to flee, it was impossible to swallow down the bile that immediately thrust itself into her throat. She could hardly focus her eyes on what was around her, tears welling and blurring everything into speckled flecks.
She had to focus. She had to do something. She was a warrior, she could hunt, she could fight, she could kill-
No, no she couldn’t. Invisible claws pinned her down to the forest floor as her entire body trembled. She struggled to process the barrage of sensory inputs. Voices crying above others, howling that split through it all, growls and gnashing of teeth and even what she swore to be the sound of bones crunching. It was all too much, all too loud. Even as her ears pinned against her head, all she wanted to do was scream. Even then, even as her head tipped back to shriek, no sound came out. If it had, there would have been a burst of sobs that came down her face, staining her white fur.
Voices she had trained herself upon cut through. Perchstar’s continued ordering of cats to get out. Her apprentice, Iron, calling to those that he cared about. Dovepaw’s cries branded themselves in her mind with the pain of a kit crying out for its mother, and it was the only thing that got her up to actually move. Mistwalker’s pained grunts came next, cutting through the rest of the slurry that paralyzed her every other step.
It was cold, and her legs hadn’t been warmed enough to allow her joints to move. Egretswoop could hear the tiny crunches of the cartilage from where she was, even as her ears may as well have not existed from how tightly they pushed against her head. With a mind that seemed to be detached from reality, the pale warrior snagged her fox pelt from beneath and placed it in her maw. It made the barrage of senses worse… so much worse. But there was a feeling in her gut that told her to commit to this act, to this gift, as she moved without so much as a thought.
A detour found her directly by Dovepaw. The gorgeous, silken pelt that she had gotten as a kit, firmly in her maw, now was draped over the back of the smaller tom. It certainly was too large for him in several areas, but there was no doubt that he would grow into it. If anything, it looked as if it was made exactly for him. The rare pale and brown tints of the fur blended beautifully in with his own pelt, much more comfortably than that of how it ever worked on her own. More tears ran down her face, the honey-colored eyes seeming clouded and distant. Words had never truly been able to work their way out of her, but this was her duty. ”You are worthy, Iron. Of everything. I apologize.”
Such words marked with finality. The tears going down her face were not enough to resemble the amount of agony that the warrior was in, and her face now contorted with the signs of invisible pain as she scrunched back to somehow process everything. It was physically painful. The wind raked itself in such a way along the snow-colored tufts of her pelt to where she may as well have been beneath the claws of the beast whose eyes now seemed to draw closer still. Turning away, there was one final command she gave to her apprentice: ”Live.” It did not matter what came of her at this point.
She didn’t even entirely comprehend the decision that she was making, either. It was madness driving her-madness that had been stewing since they’d first left Riverclan. Her breathing found a mismatched cadence to the absolute pounding of her heart, yet another sound that threatened to snap away whatever grip on the amalgamation of sanity and reality that she had created. It was all slipping away from her. All as she moved towards the clanmate who could have just as likely been her leader as it was her daughter, and not so much as pushing but shoving her towards the one who looked exactly the same.
Through a source that there would be no time to question the origin of, her teeth grasped the back of the fluffier molly’s scruff. She was larger, too, but with the way her front paws forced her weight, it was easy enough to pull her. The force of her shove had done little in producing distance, and this was her answer. Carrying the fully-grown molly directly towards the pelt of the same color. Her eyes had glazed over, the honeyed tone now more akin to as if it had crystallized. Words were slipping away to being nothing but a muffled source of pain now.
Out of the corner of her vision, teeth snapped by what felt way too close to the white molly’s pelt. Though it was much farther away than she envisioned, those teeth pulled on the singular thread that had kept her mind connected to the situation at hand.
It had snapped.
She had snapped.
A violent cry tore out of her as she spun, and that lethal beast that had brewed for moons on end seemed to finally be released from her cage. It soared on wings of death, leaping directly towards the monster that had been the one to bite away at her sanity. Pain that was not of this plane continued to twist her face into an ugly, primal snarl, her teeth bared and hissing with a ferocity that echoed across the ice that had frozen the main lake. She would be the one to deliver the death to the beast that she saw. She would enact her revenge, force it to feel the insurmountable pain that had been building. Building, building, pushing at her mental limits as she ran—
The swiftness of her paws was exactly that of her namesake. Every movement she made was a leap that held the grace of the flighted bird, pushing at the capacity that her corporeal form could handle. Distances were closed in heartbeats that would have taken her several blinks to cover. Though, perhaps it was simply due to her mind refusing to thoroughly process all that was going on. Sounds also ebbed away as she carried on, replaced by the thundering beat of her heart. The snarling of her target as she had locked onto it.
From all the cats of this forest, there was a particular difference that had never truly been divulged. She fought just as any other warrior had. She had earned her name just like any other warrior, raised in the den alongside all the other queens and nest-maids. Kits had moved onto apprenticeship just alongside her. Rowansong’s guidance and tutelage had shaped her just alongside Larkspring. Yet… she had never been the same. Differences always had surrounded her, whether they be deep down, or external. After all, there had been no secret concerning the cat who had become her mother.
Yes, the warrior with the hare pelt and strange mannerisms of speech. Her mother… yet not. Not the molly who had been the one to birth her and sentence her to the life of the world that she had no choice to enter, but instead the one who had taken her in to show her the possibilities of just why cats lived. She had been the one to gift her the pelt that had now been passed onto her apprentice, her protegee. He would be the one to carry on the traditions should any other cat fail to whisper their names any longer. Though he had not fully come into his name, she knew the tom was more than deserving.
Iron. He had been named such, a foreign word from a distant tongue that had been buried in her mind, smothered with memories of the forest. But she had known it. Twolegs had uttered it, the strange combination of consonant and vowels having been uttered by the kittypets around her in the metal cages, too. It was strong. Unbreakable. It was what had housed the cats that were kept in those nests that they could not escape. No set of claws or set of teeth had been able to so much as make a mark in them. Utterly unbreakable. Utterly undefeated. It fit the tom, suited him. In fact, he had the makings of the leader. She would have followed him, had he ever risen to such power. Perhaps he would one day.
Dimness surrounded her vision as she hurled herself forward one final time. All that encapsulated her gaze was the beast. A towering pelt of grey and brown hues, faint whites and blacks speckled about in a flurry that she couldn’t quite describe. Yellowed eyes that were slitted, a maw that was parted and dripping with the saliva of a predator’s mouth watering over its next meal. Her mind, in its morbid moments, couldn’t help itself in twisting the much larger creature into that of a smaller hare.
Hares. For the briefest of moments, the smallest little bunny flickered in her mind. He had been forced into growing far beyond that pelt, the fur of which his body had not yet fully grown into. She did not pray to Starclan, nor any deity, but it did not entirely prevent her silent prayer for safety to be sent. He deserved much more. She had hoped to have shown him how to craft the pelts that had been of her lineage. To have spent evenings with him, perhaps even one day gifting him a name that matched her other closest companions. However, it was funny how plans changed.
Crunch.
Egretswoop’s head split with a fierce pain, and in an instant, the dimness seemed to turn to pitch black. For though she had been trained as a warrior, there was no denying what ultimately flowed through her blood. All senses faded away into nothingness, save for the singular mental image.
Thick twoleg walls, towering higher than that of any tree she had encountered. A nest of strange slivers of wood, much too thin to truly be the bark of any tree that she had encountered. Four tiny lifeforms, all huddled together, but only one breathing. A singular white kit, whose breaths were much too shallow, as she was much too frigid. For even though it was a hot greenleaf day; a kit so young had not been old enough to have been sustained without its mother. A life that teetered on the edge of death, one completely helpless to cease it before a set of jaws would reach forward to pluck her away.
For she had been born a mere kittypet, doomed to never be the same as those that had the blood of the forest surging through their veins. Her white feathers now stained red as the blood of battle flowed. It was her own blood, coming from the wounds that had been placed on either side of her skull as the wolf had pierced through, giving her no chance of a true fight.
She dreamed of battle. But that was all it would ever be: a dream. For now, her wings would be of the stars.
It was time for her to fly home.
Egretswoop has sacrificed herself to buy Riverclan time.
Subject: Re: Hunted [SITEWIDE] Mon 15 Jan 2024 - 21:42
Daisyfang surged from her nest at the sudden onslaught of that horrible, familiar noise. The blood roaring past her ears turned to ice, and the bitter chill of the wind returned, but the song it sang was real this time, as close and intimate as a slit throat. The wolves howled. A song of pain. A song of death. The stars had warned them, and now the events foretold came as bright and bloodied as the dawn. The medicine cat urged anyone still in the medicine den up, leading them into the frigid leaf-bare chill. Her clan rallied, calling for kin, fluffed up pelts and wild eyes. Daisyfang was not afraid of much, but the oppressive fear-scent was suffocating, the chaos swelling around her turned her limbs to dandelion fluff.
Ears flattened back she picked out her name among WindClan’s cries. Tigerstar and his infuriating hare-brained desire to die for no good reason. Whether it was an illness he refused to seek treatment for, or these creatures that had crawled their way out of the dark forest. Her heart slammed against her ribs as she shoved her way through the tight press of her fleeing clanmates towards Tigerdance and Sootstorm. The death they faced had many many teeth. Daisyfang shrunk back against the white-hot gaze of the beast, its ugly snarling made her hackles rise. “StarClan told us something was coming, these are not enemies we can defeat. WindClan will die with its leadership if you stay here and make a stand. Run, you mouse-brains, before I need to scrape your pelts off the ground.” She called above the noise, hopefully they would see sense. A horrible tight squeeze of terror filled her chest, that expanded with a single devastating thought. What would happen if they didn’t. Surely they would not abandon their clan to ruin to fight what was obviously StarClan’s will.
With a low rumbling growl the medicine cat turned away and bounded back through the thick of the fleeing cats. “WindClan!” She yowled, her voice rising above the din like a sudden peal of thunder. “To me! The stars will light our path, have no fear, and run with all the speed StarClan has blessed you with.” She paused just briefly, for her clanmates to hear her call, to make sure the young and the sick were supported, before she plunged into the darkness of the shattered night. Hentooth, Daystar, Berrypaw. She pleaded silently. StarClan, do not abandon us now. The wind against their backs was frigid, and carried the heavy scent of blood and death. There was no path but forward. The trails she tread as a kit were faint in her memory, would she lead her clan into the dark maze of an unkind land? Doom them to wander until something else came to rain death upon them?
Please. And out of the blackness a sudden bright flash broke across the sky, showering WindClan in its hallowed light. The star fell beyond the horizon, back into the distant forest, where the wind smelled faintly of heather and home. In the star’s fading tail, the flashing paws of Silverpelt mirrored their own as the long-dead warriors led the way through the suffocating darkness, away from the death that reached for WindClan’s living. All they had to do now was follow.
Daisyfang has urged Tigerdance and Sootstorm to flee, and is leading WindClan back towards the forest!
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Daisyfang-------Cricketpaw-------Tallshadow
WindClan Medicine Cat------SkyClan Apprentice-------WindClan Warrior
Subject: Re: Hunted [SITEWIDE] Mon 15 Jan 2024 - 21:54
Galepaw
Galepaw was pleased when Eaglefly joined them. This was a cat he could depend on. He turned tail to run, but stopped when he realized Cloudypaw wasn't following. Frustrated, he bolted back to find her arguing with Eaglefly. "Cloudypaw, please," he hissed, "Don't be a mouse-brain, now is not the time to be disobeying your leader's direct orders!" He flinched, hearing his own tone, sounding much harsher than he had meant to. He tried to soften his voice. "Tigerstar's word is the code," he explained. "Don't disobey him! I'll drag you back myself if I have to!" He stepped in front of his sister, herding her away from the ensuing violence. "Trust in Tigerstar and Sootstorm, Cloudypaw," he told her, glancing up at Eaglefly next to them.
Just then, he heard the crying of another of those... those things, and Galepaw's attention snapped to a corner of the camp where he saw his mentor battling one of the foul beasts on her own. His stomach dropped. Goldengale was an absolutely massive cat, and the creature before her dwarfed her, its lips drawn back into a snarl, huge fangs glinting in the moonlight. Even Galepaw could see that the odds were not good for her.
But time was of the essence. A fully grown, well-muscled warrior stood more of a chance against the intruders than any apprentice could. Galepaw would have to put his trust in his mentor's skills as a warrior, as he had put his faith in his leader.
"Let's go," he hissed to Cloudypaw and Eaglefly. "Lead us out, Eaglefly. You know the way!"
name. uwubers timezone. EST discord. @ uwubers code.kiikko
OOC: Staff, feel free to land a good blow on Gouge for this, and give him a nasty scar to tell tales about another day!
Gouge
Gouge had been patrolling in his brother's company, senses on high alert after hearing the howling of wolves for many nights. Still, his rogues needed to eat. Tentatively, he had sent all his cats out on hunting patrols close to the camp, but he and Scorch had found themselves on the other side of the lake this night, under the light of the moon. It was eerily quiet.
Suddenly, Gouge's ears perked up when he heard the femiliar howling on the wind. "That's much closer than it has been," he meowed to his brother, his hackles raising in alarm. "The others should be back in camp by now. We should head-" Just ahead through the wood, Gouge heard the terrified wailing of a cat in distress, followed by the fierce snarling of what could only be... wolf.
Before he could think, Gouge darted forward, finding his paws skittering toward the edge of a deep gorge. In his sight, he saw the massive silhouette of the wolf outlined in the pale moonlight, and the smaller body of the cat cowering just beneath its open, snarling jaws.
"No!" Gouge yowled. He didn't hesitate. He leaped forward valiantly, sinking his claws into the wolf's fur, adrenaline pumping. It had been so long since he'd come face-to-face with a predator like this, and all of his muscles were tensed and ready for the fight. "Run!" he commanded the cat as he hung onto the beast's pelt. "Get to safety! I will distract it!"
Gouge used Jumping Strike, dealing 5 damage (7 damage +3 for first attack = 10, halved due to Tough Pelt) and -7 SP.
Gouge 40/40 HP 93/100 SP (-7)
Wolf 595/600 HP (-5) 800/800 SP
Gouge is attacking the wolf, attempting to distract it so Tux can escape!
name. uwubers timezone. EST discord. @ uwubers code.kiikko
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"I hope that we can meet again one day, you and I," she mewed, "under peaceful skies."
Number of posts : 1543 Gender : cryptid (they/he) Age : 24
Subject: Re: Hunted [SITEWIDE] Mon 15 Jan 2024 - 22:00
lightkit
◦◦◦ riverclan • he/him • kit ◦◦◦
Earsplitting wailing jolted Lightkit awake, the tomkit springing to his paws in alarm. Never before had he heard a noise like that, it was louder and longer than any cat's, and was no bird he could possibly think of. Blinking, he prodded his mother with his paws roughly to get her attention. "Mama, what was that?" he whispered, but before the queen could answer, Perchstar's voice filled the camp. She cried out for the Clan to flee and everything in an instant was chaos. Thundering paws, growling, and howling split the quiet night, and Lightkit squeaked as his scruff was grabbed and he was whisked away. A warrior had come and grabbed him before his mother could.
"Mama!" he wailed, just catching a glimpse of her pelt before other cats crowded his view. He could just make out her voice above the din as she yowled that she wasn't far behind. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut and tried to drown out the noise and sights, his fur bushed out in terror.
i see the light that's shinin’ on me; it's been waiting for a long time for me to see; ( credits )
Icekit of SkyClan is unborn. Faraday/Flickerkit will flee in another post.
Characters : [SC]Heatherberry| [TC]Vinecrawler | [R]Grub | [R] Grun Jr Clan/Rank : [H]T3 BT MC / T4 MC | [G]T4 Rogue | [GJ] T1 Rogue [V]T5 Warrior Number of posts : 4497 Gender : she/her Age : 26
Subject: Re: Hunted [SITEWIDE] Mon 15 Jan 2024 - 22:11
Wolf #3 had its amber gaze focused elsewhere when needle-like teeth pulled at its thick tail like a pup getting too rowdy during playtime. A frothy snarl trailed behind as its head whipped around in irritation, turning it's gray and white body to face who had dared to pick a fight with him. Spit melted into the snow as he lunged at his offender, heavy claws taking a hardy swing at her head and being rewarded with a claw dragging through one eye and snagging a lower leg in one go, a sickening snap as tendons tore from the she-cat's elbow.
Wolf #3 used Heavy Blow, KO'ing Goldengale and knocking them out of the fight. Cost 30 SP.
Wolf #3:Beastly Size and Tough Pelt are active! Unable to Stun! 596 / 600 HP (-4) 770 / 800 SP (-30)
The dense, white winter fur that lined Wolf #4's neck earned her assailant a mouthful of fluff, teeth scratching an itch that had started to irk her as her pack swarmed the lake territories. Still, she had just been attacked and wouldn't be taking it laying down. A paw the size of the toms head reared up, slamming into his ribcage with enough force to shatter bones and pierce organs, every ounce of body weight being put into crushing him beneath her. Hot crimson warming her chilled paws from the snow.
There was only the thought to kill or be killed as something came up beside her, jaws opening and then closing with a resounding finality around a rather tiny cats head.
Wolf #4 used a fatal Heavy Blow, KO'ing Darkspirit. Cost 30 SP. Wolf #4 used Iron Bite on Twilightkit resulting in an automatic KO. Costs 45 SP
Wolf #4:Beastly Size and Tough Pelt are active! Unable to Stun! 595 / 600 HP (-5) 725 / 800 SP (-75)
Last edited by Flybot on Wed 17 Jan 2024 - 19:57; edited 4 times in total
JJ Former Staff
Number of posts : 1837 Gender : she/her Age : 31
Subject: Re: Hunted [SITEWIDE] Mon 15 Jan 2024 - 22:17
It felt like everything moved in slow motion. The wolf had not been expecting to be ambushed from above, and though he had the advantage of surprise, it... didn't feel like it mattered at all. His claws raked at its face, but seemed almost to disappear within the thick fur, hardly touching flesh at all. Sunfire's eyes widened in shock, his brain not fully comprehending why he couldn't hurt the thing as he scrabbled to find purchase. But the size of the beast was unlike anything the warrior had faced before, and as he grappled with the sudden knowledge that he didn't know how to kill it, it seized an opportunity.
Hot jaws closed around his leg, snatching him and breaking his claws away from where he'd managed to snag them. The wolf thrashed him against the ground, and darkness encroached on Sunfire's vision as his skull made impact. He couldn't see the wolf slavering over top of him, but he could feel its breath on his pelt, hot, acrid, stinking... and then the sound of voices cut through the ringing in his ears. Stormwatcher, Falconmoon, Lionstripe.
Lionstripe? The other tom's scent suddenly flooded his nostrils, and he lifted his head in time to see the copper warrior surge forward to defend him... to take the killing blow meant for him. Dark, wet, heavy blood streaked his coat, Lionstripe's and his own. Sunfire stared, comanding his legs to get under him and reeling back when they wouldn't obey. His head was swimming, vision fading from sharp to blur and back again, and try as he might, the yellow tom was too dazed to move.
Then a familiar golden pelt shoved its way between him and the wolf, and Falconmoon's voice plead with him to flee. Wolfblossom, Graywind, all of them saying the same: run, run... there was no fighting this beast. That thought was ridiculous. There was no creature that he couldn't fight. And running would do what? Put another cat in harm's reach? No. Camp was too close. Apprentices, kits, siblings, all too close to this disgusting, stinking beast... they needed more time. He could give them more time.
As Falconmoon moved away, Sunfire rolled to his feet, fighting the instant headache that was like a thorn in his brain. The wolf had finished with Lionstripe, and its gore-stained fangs were now bared in his direction. One smooth motion and it could close the distance. It was waiting for him to run, he could tell... by the tension in its body, the way it vibrated with expectation. They stared at each other, two matching sets of baleful yellow orbs in the darkness. And then Sunfire moved. He didn't turn and flee, but instead surged forward with a vicious snarl, setting his teeth into the only vulnerable spot he could see - the wolf's nose. He bit down hard, so hard he felt his fangs might snap from the pressure. Then, the beast still reeling, Sunfire released, kicked off of the wolf, and tore towards the treeline. Over his shoulder, he roared: "GO! I'LL CATCH UP!" First he had to make sure this slobbering mongrel was well and away from his family.
Sunfire used Snap on Wolf 2, dealing 10 damage at the cost of 7 stamina. Wolf's passive halves the 10 damage to 5. (For flavor, I am having Sun take half the damage that Lionstripe would have blocked, to represent the injury he sustained before Lion showed up.)
Lionstripe [dead]
Wolf 2 591HP / 755SP (-5HP)
Sunfire 53HP / 143SP (-17 HP, -7SP)
Last edited by JJ on Mon 15 Jan 2024 - 22:25; edited 1 time in total
xaandiir Former Staff
Characters : [P]oppyshine; [Pi]neblossom; [W]hisperear; [C]rookedlight; [L]arkspring; [Wi]llowwisp Clan/Rank : RC T5 Deputy; SC T5; WC T5; SkC T5; RC T4; RC T4 Number of posts : 2969 Gender : Any Pronouns Age : 25
Subject: Re: Hunted [SITEWIDE] Mon 15 Jan 2024 - 22:20
Poppyshine
The howls startled Poppyshine awake and she immediately thought back to the haunting prophecy that Heatherberry had told her just a few days ago. Perchstar’s calls filled the air and Poppyshine echoed them, yelling, “Go, go! Senior warriors at the front, guide the way home!” She would stay behind alongside Perchstar, making sure that cats are taken care of. She spotted Duckpaw who still seemed trapped in sleep. “Sprucebark! You and Scorclight please take Duckpaw with you, and move quickly!”
Poppyshine has given an order to Sprucebark and is assisting Perchstar in finding those falling behind.
The lakeside erupted into panic at the appearance of monstrous canine beasts. Her heart leapt into her throat at seeing the creature that she named one of her kits after. She’d never seen one, instead only hearing of them in stories. Seeing them now, they terrified her.
Thankfully the herbs she had been given just a couple days ago had worked wonders. She felt good as new, and so she was able to jump into quick action. “Silver, help me grab the kits!” she yelled to her son as she scrambled up. She could maybe hold two in her jaw, and Silver too, which would leave one. She would not let any of her kits run, because it was impossible that they would outrun these beasts.
Thinking quickly, she snatched up Hedgekit and deposited her onto her scruff. “Hedge, bite down onto my scruff and hold on tight. I’m going to run and I don’t want you to be thrown off. If anything happens, scream as loud as you can and I’ll hear you. I promise. Keep your eyes closed.” She then grabbed Wolfkit and Fernkit into her jaws and looked to Silverawk with wild eyes for him to grab Bluekit and Stagkit.
Pineblossom has grabbed three of her kits and is waiting for Silverhawk to get the others before their family will flee.
Larkspring startled awake from the frantic nudging from Cindersky. He got to his feet and spotted the demons in the darkness. The sight of them made his fur stand on end. He was about to run as instructed when Cindersky turned tail and ran elsewhere. “Cinder-!” Larkspring growled and his entire body shook with frustration. He looked to Rookflight. ”Go, and I’ll be with you as soon as I drag her after me.” He then sprinted after Cindersky, yelling for her to get running with them.
It was lucky timing that Willowwisp was healed just a couple of days before. Her mind still grew foggy sometimes as the symptoms wore off, but she could wake, move, run, think. She heard her mother’s calls and immediately started moving. She saw Rookflight on their own and called, “Rookflight! Come with me!” She started moving further, searching desperately for her siblings when she saw Mistwalker—and then, just behind her, Egretswoop is bitten through like she was nothing. Willowwisp felt the world tilt as she saw Egretswoop’s body go limp and she looked swiftly towards her sister instead. “Mist—Mistwalker, move, keep going,” she encouraged and pressed against her sister’s body to help aid her in walking more swiftly on her damaged paws.
Willowwisp called to Rookflight to join her and is helping Mistwalker.
Subject: Re: Hunted [SITEWIDE] Mon 15 Jan 2024 - 23:20
Everything slammed into a pounding stillness. Goldengale’s battle yowl echoed against his ears over and over again like it was being screamed into the abyss. He knew what that meant. His bur bristled up at the snarling, the horrible ugly snarling, and every single inch of his long golden body locked in terror. He couldn’t look away. There was Goldengale, in her larger than life glory, a righteous flame in the darkness of the night. And then her blood splashed against the snow-dusted ground, running vibrant and bright under the moon’s dim light. And then her body crumpled into stillness like matted grass against the force of the wind.
Tallshadow felt his ribs were caving, like his lungs were collapsing inwards and every single sun-stained memory of the golden she-cat flashed against the inside of his eyelids. With something too desperate to be a battle cry and too fierce to be anything but a roar of outrage, the tall golden warrior flung himself towards the she-cat’s prone body. In one long-stretching stride she was Goldengale, thick muscular back being torn open, beautiful golden ruff smothered in a bubbling gush of blood, and in the next she was tiny helpless Heatherkit, gone too young to know anything but pain. Tufts of her golden fur scattered by the breeze swirled against his claws, getting snagged on the rocks that dotted WindClan’s temporary camp and acting like kindling to the fire throbbing so hot in his veins he felt like everything was burning around him. He had watched his siblings die in that slow, helpless way, and he wouldn’t go through it again. He couldn’t lose her, not like this. She didn’t deserve to die in the dark, in an unfamiliar land that didn’t care for her. She didn’t deserve to die so far from the moor she loved to run, and the ancestral home she swore to protect.
His jaws closed around the beast’s thick tail, and everything fuzzed out into a flatline. His jaws snapped open again, desperately searching to find purchase in anything other than foul tasting fur. Blood and hot saliva dripped from his teeth as he peeled his lips back, insatiable. With every ounce of his strength he reared back, yanking the wolf’s tail like he was trying to pull the whole appendage off. In a lithe bound he ducked under the creature’s belly and between its front legs, throwing himself between the beast and his sister. He stood over Goldengale, sides heaving, and hackles raised, every inch of his intimidating height drawn up to growl at the massive creature. There was nothing in his but hot gushing mouthfuls of blood and fur and flesh, the wolf’s, Goldengale’s, the ichor that all bled together over his pale golden paws and sharp white claws. There was nothing but the reek of the predator, the horrible, inscent, speeding crescendo of his heart as it kicked wildly against his ribs. And worse yet, when the rage cooled and adrenaline died, he was left with her broken body, shuddering limply at his paws, and the burning gaze of the beast, still hungry for the life it was owed.
With a final unholy wail, a sound like a death throe or some ugly desperate growl that bubbled up from his chest, ear-splitting and dripping in his rage and agony, Tallshadow grabbed the massive she-cat by her ruined scruff and dragged her towards the treeline were the rest of WindClan had fled. She was heavy and bleeding and stunk so strongly of blood, but he dragged her in an awkward half run, tripping over her sprawled body as he finally heaved her down the rise and they tumbled together into the shelter of the trees. He crept over to her still body, crouching at her side.
“Goldengale? he whispered, her name scrapped out of his mouth like bits of gravel. Gently, agonizingly, he lapped at the blood on her scruff, trying to rouse her. “C’mon, give me something here. Please.” Every part of him was tangled up with her. There was no part of him she had not had a hand in creating. She was strong and unyielding where he was lean and lithe. He was steadfast where she pulled in every direction. “You haven’t made Windclan the Windiest WindClan ever.” And he was standing over his other half, a sister in everything but birth, with her blood splattered across a soil that never cared for them, that was empty of history or tradition or anything that even mattered. Except for her of course, bleeding her stubborn, vibrant blood into its unworthy grit. And parts of her were missing, dear StarClan her leg was missing.
Tallshadow felt sick, worse than when he was staring death in the face and it laughed at him. It was laughing now. It didn’t need to take him then, this, this was so much worse. Death was looming over him now, crouched under a sickle moon and rejoicing because it had both of them now. And maybe he should have grabbed her by the scruff and hauled her back into reality moons ago. But she had always been too large for her own good, too wild and wonderful and invincible to be concerned with things like practicality and caution.
She was dying, or already dead, or somewhere in between and his last words to her were going to be the windiest windclan ever. He wanted to scream. He wanted to be overcome by the dirt and the grass and die with her. “You’ll be alright. I won’t leave. Come on you stubborn thistle-brain, I love you.” And it felt like the very innards of his soul were ripped open, just as raw and red and ugly as her ruined skin. Every word out of his mouth was horrible in that honest, rib-snapping way, and everything he loved was collapsing inward like an unshored tunnel. ---------------------------------------------------------------
Tallshadow has used Fight and Flee on Wolf #3 and dragged Goldengale away from the fight
Wolf #3 591//600 HP (-5hp)
Tallshadow 50//0 (-120sp)
______________________________________
Daisyfang-------Cricketpaw-------Tallshadow
WindClan Medicine Cat------SkyClan Apprentice-------WindClan Warrior
MALLOWKIT ! Mallowkit's eyes darted between the cats around him. He parted his jaws wide to suck in a deep breath, gulping audibly. He had swallowed so hard that it seemed the air would get caught in his chest and his eyes bulged with the effort of it. Breathing; it was all he could do to keep himself in check as the cats around him gently coaxed him to move along.
Yes, he was in danger. He had to leave, like Yewkit had said. Honeypaw's tenderness brought him comfort and helped bring him back to the present, enough for him to finally move towards the young she-cat. "O-okay," he mewed softly, looking to Yewkit again, his eyes brimming with uncertainty. Yet, he still tried to put on a brave front and he meekly raised his head. "Like... Like brave LionClan warriors." Mallowkit is preparing to flee with Honeypaw, Yewkit, Paledove and the others!
Subject: Re: Hunted [SITEWIDE] Tue 16 Jan 2024 - 2:14
CONTENT WARNING: This post contains indirect allusions to suicidal ideation.
Though she was physically feeling better after Heatherberry's treatments, Leopardstar still felt on edge. Maybe it was simply that everything was too peaceful: yes, they had fled the forest for safety, but to actually find it... As the looming storm clouds of the sickness began to part, allowing the sunlight of hope to shine through once more, she couldn't help but wonder when it would all go wrong. It always seemed to.
The chorus of howls startled her from her not-quite-sleep, more of a distracted haze as she had tried. It was followed swiftly by Echomist's words, which registered somewhere in the back of her mind, because she was focused on how he was standing; how he hadn't gotten better the way she had.
They were supposed to have time. Time to heal, from sickness and from the wounds she had inflicted on their family.
Moons. Seasons.
Days wasn't long enough.
"Echomist!"
If he was going to fight, she wouldn't leave him there alone. Even setting aside the desperation in her voice, in her thoughts--the voice in her mind that shouted no, not again!--she would stand and fight for ShadowClan; let them have the chance to flee. She had taken the blessings thrust upon her for ShadowClan's sake, and she would lay them down for them more easily than she had accepted them in the first place.
To stand and fight to the last breath, by the side of her love...
There were worse fates.
She'd seen them with her own eyes, life stripped away by the stars that glittered in the sky above them.
"ShadowClan," she called, voice carrying with the strength and conviction she'd been lacking. "Run."
And instead of heeding her own words, she leapt forward.
She had failed them enough. Her Clan, her kin, her beloved; this, at least, she could do. She would stand and fight and die for ShadowClan. They deserved a leader with conviction, one who was willing to stand and fight her own battles; to pay the price of blood with only her own.
"I'm not leaving you. I won't--I won't fail you again. I swear it."
ShadowClan would survive.
With or without her.
Leopardstar used Front Paw Strike + Desperate Blows, dealing 13 (10+2+1) + 9 (6 +2 +1) damage; and costing 14 SP! Damage is halved from Tough Pelt passive.
Leopardstar 80/80 HP 156/170 SP (-14)
Wolf 589/600 HP (-11) 800/800 SP
after all the things i’ve said and done; i don’t feel like the chosen one —— info.
Last edited by Holly on Tue 16 Jan 2024 - 14:16; edited 1 time in total
Triangle
Characters : Ospreypaw (Sk) | Emberkit (Tc) Clan/Rank : Skyclan apprentice | Thunderclan kit Number of posts : 91 Gender : Any pronouns
Subject: Re: Hunted [SITEWIDE] Tue 16 Jan 2024 - 2:27
- Ospreykit -
Ospreykit had never heard a noise like the one that startled her awake that night. She was on her tiny paws nearly as soon her eyes snapped open. The fur on her spine pricked up. In instants the world was in chaos, shouts erupting around the camp outside. “Mama, what’s going on?!” She cried out, clinging to Paledove’s side. Her siblings were in similar states of panic. Every hair was on end, every claw in the nursery unsheathed no matter how tiny and useless. The unnatural sounds played over and over again in primitive symphony, nearly drowning out the cats’ screams. As Honeypaw appeared at the entrance Ospreykit made the mistake of looking past her- And met the eyes of a beast.
Ospreykit had heard stories of what horrible, blood-curdling creatures lurked outside camp walls, of foxes and badgers and rouges that mauled full grown warriors and feasted on bones, but this was beyond even that. The thing—she had now word to describe such a monster—was massive. It towered over any cat that had ever breathed, with fur thick and dark, and a ravine of a maw bigger than her whole body. She thought it could swallow her whole, and the impaling teeth now bared in a snarl would never even need to bite down. Such a young kit hadn’t been in danger before, coddled in the nursery. She was always confident, safe, ready for any small challenge the day could possibly give her. What really bad could ever happen, surrounded by warriors and thick bramble walls to protect her? But those defenses had crumbled in seconds. Her home, her haven, was death and chaos now. Ospreykit had never felt real fear. She felt it now.
That moment stretched into eternity as Ospreykit stood stiller than she had ever been, as time itself stopped and sounds dulled around her. She might as well have been one of the immovable trees of Skyclan, roots spiraling from her paws down deep into the Earth to trap her there. Even as every scrap of adrenaline in her body screamed at her run run run she couldn’t break away. Pure terror pinned her in place, trapped under the predator’s hungry yellow gaze.
But then Stormwatcher was bursting through the entrance of the nursery, blocking the chilling sight with a familiar face. He was panting, and talking too fast, and covered in blood, but he was there. There to rescue her! She blinked and the world came back at full throttle, the shouts renewed in her ears and she could make out the frantic words tossed around her. Ospreykit unfroze, paws stumbling forward. “Stormwatcher! I’m here!”
She glanced back to her mother and littermates, seeing that more cats had arrived to help evacuate. Head high, be brave. No SkyClanber cries. She listened to Paledove and managed to fight back the tears welling in her eyes long enough to focus, to take count of every cta around her. Stormwatcher was urging her to hurry but she dove back into the depths of the nursery. Even in her state of terror, with every fiber of her instinct telling her to flee, she couldn’t leave her littermates behind. “Come on!” She darted towards her nearest sibling, gesturing wildly with her tail for them to move. She half nudged half dragged the other kit towards Stormwatcher, making sure they could be picked up too before she frantically scrambled up the warriors side.
Ospreykit of Skyclan is fleeing with Stormwatcher and trying to bring one of her littermates
Subject: Re: Hunted [SITEWIDE] Tue 16 Jan 2024 - 2:29
Brackenpaw hardly needed Honeypaw’s shrill calls to wake him, the primal howling had cut through his dreamless sleep and brought him to the present. Already the gears in his mind were ticking away creating an itinerary of what he needed to do. Starting with ignoring his sister. Brackenpaw dashed out of the den faster than he had ever moved before, shoving himself past Honeypaw, wild blue eyes searching for the warrior den. “Shatteredsky!” he yelled into the den. He knew his brother would be awake, if there was one thing Brackenpaw had a love- hate relationship with, it was his brother’s alertness. It made beating him in spars all the more difficult, but all the more valuable when defending their siblings, which was what Brackenpaw needed him to do now. Now they both had to put their pact into action, had to trust each other despite their strained relationship.
The brindled tom stood in the entryway, pelt bristling and tail puffed. “I am going to fight, we have a promise and you will keep it. Make sure Harepaw and Honeypaw make it to safety.” His eyes narrowed as he gazed at his brother, this was a command and he wasn’t backing down from it. Everyone would live, and everything would be okay. He turned to leave, to face the horrors amongst the tree line, but he paused. His heart ached and his chest felt tight. As stupid as he was Brackenpaw knew this could be his last time seeing Shatteredsky, and as frustrated and angry as he had been lately with his brother. He still cared for him. Still loved him, even if he wanted to smack him upside the head. Brackenpaw took in a shaky breath, back to Shatteredsky. He couldn’t face him, didn’t need to see the way his brother could act. Not needing to know that Shatteredsky would probably look down on him for getting so caught up in the moment “And, Shatteredsky… Take care of yourself too. Make sure you get out of there as well.” The tom with the emotional range of a nettle looked back over his shoulder, tears starting to pool as the realness of their promise and the magnitude of what his own stupidity was going to cost him set in. “If… “ he shook his head, he wasn’t going to force his brother into anymore promises. “I will see all of you for another spar.” meowed Brackenpaw thickly, finally taking his exit.
The howling was closer now, and Brackenpaw watched as several warriors blurred past him. His father amongst them. The apprentice chased after him, he wasn’t losing another parent. However with his attention split, he didn’t see Lionstripe take the blow intended for Sunfire, only heard the crunch of bone, and the harrowing death screech the warrior let loose. He froze, head whipping round to watch as blood pumped in every which way from the crushed limp form of the once powerful tom. The smell of metal hitting him at full force, causing him to step back as he reeled away from the stench of it. His limbs began to quiver, and that StarClan forgive us fear scent was snaking it is way towards the beast. Falconmoon was safe having scrambled to the trees, but his son barely noticed, rooted to the spot in fear.
It was as if Brackenpaw was being sent back through time and suddenly he was a blind helpless kit. All he could smell was death and no one was going to help him, and all he could hear was muffled voices talking to him. His mother was close, but she wasn’t here. Thornstalker had never been here. The scene in the nursery began to change and now he was being dragged forward and down. Sharp talons dug into his body as he crashed into the snow. The sound of his own screams deafening him, as he watched the owl’s claws sink deeper into his flesh. Death was all around him, and it was coming for him and his littermates. Mercy was not within its nature. but Brackenpaw couldn’t move, couldn’t focus on the creature before him. His mind was ringing with the sounds of alarm, and telling him over and over what that scent meant, what that sound meant, but Brackenpaw couldn’t put his paws into action. Death was going to get him.
”F-father?” he managed to gasp out, trying so hard to get control of his own body, trying to override his instincts. Brackenpaw was terrified, it seemed to be a reoccurring thing in these circumstances. A fear that wouldn’t leave. A fear that someone like himself shouldn’t have. He had trained himself to exhaustion plenty of times, he was all muscle, the tom yet to find another cat that matched his sheer will and determination when it came to battle. It was an obsession. Yet when he was in a real situation, when the scent of blood, hot and thick, hit him, Brackenpaw balked. All his hard work crumbling down around him. What is wrong with me?! He had to move, if he didn’t… his stupid mouse brained sacrifice would be for nothing.
Brackenpaw dug his claws into the hard dirt beneath him, a snarl on his face. In his mind he thought of his siblings, thought of them watching him from afar, frozen and helpless as he was torn to shreds. Then the beast would set its hungry eyes on them, and it would be all over for them too. He had to fight. The lilac tom’s eyes narrowed, and his tail lashed, but he still couldn’t move, still was frozen in place. Digging deep, Brackenpaw searched through all that he had for something that could drive him forward, break him out of his trance. His name. The muffled voice from before became clearer, his memory finally drawing it forward when he needed it most. When the tom’s life hung in the balance. His name… Bracken for your hidden markings. Bracken for his hidden strength.
Brackenpaw twisted his paws, and puffed his chest out. “Muttbrain!” he snarled dragging the wolf’s attention towards himself. “Why don’t you take on a real challenge?” The brindled tom took off towards the wolf in a flurry of cream, and brown, paws churning the ground beneath him, as he flung himself at the wolf, claws unsheathed. Brackenpaw connected with the creature’s side, needle like claws digging in as deep as he could manage, and teeth tearing chunks and tufts of fur from the creature
Brackenpaw used jumping strike on Wolf #2 dealing - 6HP and costing - 7SP. Wolf passive iron hide negates damage by half (6/2 = 3)
Subject: Re: Hunted [SITEWIDE] Tue 16 Jan 2024 - 9:57
Scorchlight woke up and jolted to her paws, she heard yowls of pain and fear around her from clanmates and unfamiliar cats. She heard wolves and smelled them, and she heard her name called by Poppyshine. "Sprucebark, is everything alright?!" Sprucebark seemed frantic. She bumped into Sprucebark, then looked up towards him. "What’s going on?" she mewled, sounding like a scared kit. She noticed the herd of cats fleeing, with most leaders taking care of their clans and ordering them to leave. Poppyshine ordered her to help Duckpaw, her and Sprucebark.
"N-never mind, there’s no time to waste. We gotta save Duckpaw before they become crowfood!" she rushed through her clanmates, hearing horrified mewls just like her own. Her ears rang as everything went by too fast. The wolves were closing in on Duckpaw. Scorchlight wouldn’t be responsible for a death. No, she wouldn’t. She hurried towards Duckpaw and nudged them, but it was no use. She stared in desperation. "No! No! Get up, Duckpaw! Get up! Sprucebark, they aren’t getting up!" Fear stung her as the wolves closed in on both of them. "Sprucebark!!"